Salam Alaikum (i.e. peace be upon you) is the greeting of a Muslim. It should be known that As-Salam is one of the Names of Allah and it means ‘The Source of Peace’.
A. How Salam began or came into being?
Salam has been the greeting of believers right from the day one i.e. when Adam (peace be upon him) was created. Go through the following narration in this regard:
Narrated Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) in ‘His Image’ sixty cubits (about thirty metres) in height. When He created him, He said (to Adam), ‘Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring.’ Adam (went &) said, ‘As-Salam Alaikum (i.e. peace be upon you).’ They replied, ‘As-Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatallah’ (i.e. peace and Allah’s mercy be upon you).’ So they increased ‘Wa Rahmatallah’.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) added, “So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape & picture of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam’s offsprings (i.e. stature of human beings) is being diminished up to the present time.” (Hadith No. 6227, Book of Asking Permission, Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 8).
In the narration above, the phrase ‘His Image’ means that Adam has been bestowed with life, knowledge, power of hearing, seeing, understanding, but the features of Adam are different from those of Allah, only the names are same. For example: Allah has life and knowledge and power of understanding, and Adam also has them, but there is no comparison between the Creator and the created thing.
B. Salam shall be the greeting of believers on ‘The Day of Judgement’ & in Paradise.
It is mentioned in Qur’an that the believers will be greeted by Salam at the time of their meeting with Allah. Refer to the following verse: “Their greeting on the Day they shall meet Him will be ‘Salam’. And He has prepared for them a generous reward.” (Aayah No. 44, Surah Al-Ahzab, Chapter No. 33, Holy Qur’an).
C. Initiating the Salam
It was narrated that Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “The one who is closest of people to Allah, the Most high, is the one who initiates the greeting of Salam.” (Hadith No. 5197, Book of Etiquette, Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 5).
Can there be a better narration than this to emphasize the greatness of the person who initiates Salam? If we follow Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) in this matter, we come to know that he even greeted small children with Salam. And on the contrary give a thought to the condition of Muslims at present. Whoever possesses wealth or a big position, he/she feels that it is not they who should greet others, and rather others (whom they think inferior to them) are to greet them. Sadly, pride has overtaken the essence of their greetings.
D. Responding to Salam
It is established that when someone greets us with Salam, it is mandatory to give a response. However, there is a manner in which the Salam should be answered. To understand it let us go through following verse of Qur’an:
“When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally. Certainly, Allah is Ever a Careful Account Taker of all things.” (Aayah No. 86, Surah An-Nisa’, Chapter No. 4, Holy Qur’an).
It is very important to understand this aayah. The first thing to understand is that it is mandatory to respond to a greeting. The second thing to remember is that the response should also be a greeting, either better than the earlier one or at least equal than that. For example: If someone greets us by saying As-Salam Alaikum, our response should be a step better than that i.e. Wa-alaikum As-Salam Wa Rahmatallah or at least equal i.e. Wa-alaikum As-Salam. Similarly, if someone greets us by saying As-Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatallah, our response should be Wa-alaikum As-Salam Wa Rahmatallah Wa Barakatuhu (a step better) or at least Wa-alaikum As-Salam Wa Rahmatallah (same as the greeting said to us). Never should we reply to the greeting by saying a greeting lesser than what was said to us like saying Wa-alaikum in response to As-Salam Alaikum.
